Bethesda is one of the most respected game studios in the game industry and Starfield had significant hype following its release. The game certainly has met expectations to some extent, but it’s not a perfect PC port, which seems to be a pattern among video games as of late. Starfield PC players are experiencing errors and issues like GPU Doesn’t Meet Minimal Specs at startup and the DXGI_ERROR_DEVICE_HUNG error. In this Starfield guide, I will list fixes for the DXGI_ERROR_DEVICE_HUNG error.
Starfield DXGI_ERROR_DEVICE_HUNG Error Fixes You Can Try
DXGI_ERROR_DEVICE_HUNG is a GPU-related error and there are multiple reasons why Startfield is crashing with this error message. It could be the corrupt DirectX cache, overclocked GPU, unlocked FPS, and more. The following are the fixes for the DXGI_ERROR_DEVICE_HUNG error.
Delete DirectX Cache
DirectX stores shader cache on PCs for better performance and other technical reasons. The cache could be corrupt or some files on the cache are incompatible with the game or the GPU driver, that is why Starfield is crashing with DXGI_ERROR_DEVICE_HUNG while playing. Deleting the DirectX shader cache will force the system to create and new one and the DXGI_ERROR_DEVICE_HUNG crash will be fixed.
Navigate to C:\Users\’your username’\AppData\Local\NVIDIA and delete the DXCache folder.
Another way to delete the DirectX shader cache is to open Disk Cleanup > select C drive and press Ok > select DirectX Shader Cache > press OK, and Windows will delete the DirectX Shader cache. Launch Starfield and it won’t crash again with the DXGI_ERROR_DEVICE_HUNG error.
Disable Overclock, Enable Debug Mode
Overclocking is one of the advantages of being a PC user, it allows one to squeeze out more performance from the hardware to improve FPS. While it can improve FPS, it can also make the gaming experience unstable with crashes and errors like DXGI_ERROR_DEVICE_HUNG. If you have overclocked your GPU or have a factory overclocked GPU, it is the reason for the Starfield crashing with DXGI_ERROR_DEVICE_HUNG error. Revert the GPU back to its default GPU clock, if you have overclocked it.
In case you have a factory overclocked GPU, which is quite common, open Nvidia Control Panel > Help > Debug Mode. Enabling the debug mode forces the GPU to use reference GPU clocks recommended by Nvidia. Enable the Debug mode, launch Starfield, and the DXGI_ERROR_DEVICE_HUNG error is now fixed.
Limit Max Frame Rate
Playing at an unlocked FPS can crash games like Starfield while playing with the DXGI_ERROR_DEVICE_HUNG error. One possible reason is that the GPU isn’t handling the game’s unlocked FPS which results in a crash. Limiting the maximum frame rate reduces the GPU and CPU load which fixes the DXGI_ERROR_DEVICE_HUNG error. Usually, you can enable the FPS limit through the in-game graphics menu, but in my experience, that causes frame pacing issues. Enable FPS Limit through the Nvidia Control Panel for better frame pacing. Open Nvidia Control Panel > Manage 3D Settings > Program Settings > select Starfield from the drop-down menu > scroll down and enable the “Max Frame Rate” option and set a value for it. Launch Starfield and it won’t crash with the DXGI_ERROR_DEVICE_HUNG error.
Note: Unless you are using a Freesync or Gsync display, your Max Frame Limit should be 1/2, 1/3rd, or 1/4th of your monitor’s refresh rate. Otherwise, the game will feel jittery.
Reinstall GPU Driver
An incompatible GPU driver is another reason for Starfield’s DXGI_ERROR_DEVICE_HUNG crash. Older GPU Driver versions are causing Starfield to crash in-game or at startup. Install the Nvidia Driver version 537.13 and ensure that you do a clean installation. This will fix all the GPU-related errors along with the DXGI_ERROR_DEVICE_HUNG error.
That is all for our Starfield fixes for the DXGI_ERROR_DEVICE_HUNG crash. If you are facing errors and issues with other PC games or your PC, then also see our hub for commonly occurring PC errors and their fixes.